Recipease by Jamie Oliver

Recently, when the usual cafe I regularly use for breakfast was closed for holidays, I ventured into Brighton's Recipease to try it out. Plenty of room to eat in a busy, bustling emporium enhanced with the smell of foods being cooked and fresh coffee aromas tempted me to order the set breakfast of the day and a cup of white coffee. The staff were very attentive and the breakfast was served in quick time. 
But boy, what a disappointment ........ the tiniest fried egg I have ever seen, miniscule in size with a "snotty" yolk, maybe it was free range, but was no bigger than a pullet's egg. A few rancid, salty thin strips (about 13mm. wide) of overcooked fried pancetta as an excuse for bacon, accompanied by a piece of chorizo that had been cut lengthwise and deep fried to the extent that it needed a surgical quality scalpel to cut because it was so dry and tough, together with an acceptable pork and leek sausage. There was also a small wedge of tasteless quiche like substance purporting to be tortilla, half, yes half, of a small tomato that had been fried, a small ramekin style pot of sour, unappetising baked beans that had been mixed with "God knows what". Garnished with 2 slices of hand cut dry white bread that had been crisply toasted, I don't think I will need cooking lessons to make toast. A selection of jars of preserves, of which I chose the Fig jam, was very nice.
The 2 cups of coffee were satisfying, although expensive at £2.40 each. The final bill came to £13.55 which is extortionate for what was provided, I felt I had been conned by this establishment, trading on the public image of it's "Celebrity Chef". Value for money I rate it: 0/10, taste; 0/10, quality of food; 0/10, coffee; 6/10, ambiance; 8/10, for a total of 14/50 (28%), In future I shall be frequenting my usual greasy spoon haunt nearby, called Belchers, for a full English Breakfast including tea or coffee at £4.80, much more edible and realistic. As you would expect, I will not be trumpeting the wonderful "Recipease Experience", despite the loyalty card scheme, an experience I shall forever avoid. Wins the "Poncey Food Award 2012" hands down.

It is the noisiest cafe in Brighton, the staff seem like trying to break the coffee machine whenever they make a drink! Once my friend order a toasted croissant with cheese but it came cold... Very unpleasant. However the breakfast is better than lunch menu. Don't try the homemade baked beans though because it is not that special.

I’ve been here 3 times now. Once for a cooking lesson, which was fun and informative & then twice for lunch. Lovely atmosphere and the thai green curry is amazing :)

great pastry!!!

very good coffee and food. Lunch deal is value for money!

I've been in Recipease a few times before but never bought much, mainly cause they don't do much veggie food. I think this is an obvious gap, especially in Brighton.

This pasta making lesson was very different though as I was able to experiment with the pasta filling and adjust it to my own taste (although my choice to include the sage in the filling was met with "oh, you've put it in there" by Chef - I didn't know it was supposed to be used in the buerre noisette! I had a flashback to my HE teacher in school who disapproved when I inevitably strayed from the recipe).

I only wish there'd been more time to make other types of pasta but did come away with a recipie sheet that covered other types and the inspiration to try them out.

Really enjoyed eating what I'd made and learning from Chef. I have been motivated to try some more lessons (maybe the knife skills like some others here) now I know how it all works.

Sorry to Dawn for keep hitting her with the pasta machine handle as I cranked it round.

Oh, and can't wait for the video from the lovely Alex.

Thanks for arranging it all.

Absolutely fantastic. I have watched my mother-in-law slaving away making fresh pasta dishes in her Roman kitchen many a time and up until this week was only ever that interested in the final part of the process: scoffing it. Now on my next trip to Rome, I shall be buying my own machine and making fresh tortellini for the whole family.

You see, at our recent event here I discovered that making pasta, from scratch, is simple - though not easy - and bundles of fun. This was boosted massively by having such a helpful, patient and engaging teacher. Matt the chef was charming, not critical of Sarah DW and yours truly's lame attempts at sealing the ravioli and tolerated me spraying half the kitchen with peppercorns when I started to get a bit flash with the utensils.

The premises itself is nice and spacious, with a whole array of desirable kitchen items, books and ingredients for sale, and the section where classes are held at the back of the venue is perfect. There are plenty of stoves, all with ample room and as the chef is central and the main focus it's easy to take all the instruction in. We, as I hope is obvious, attended the pasta making course, but they also do a Mexican street food class and Thai green curry making too. Furthermore, they cater for hen nights and ladies be assured there is an abundance of opportunities for pre-marital innuendo.

A thoroughly brilliant evening.

Had a fabulous time last night learning how to make fresh pasta, thanks to the lovely Matt.
We all managed to sit down with a glass of wine and eat some thing quite amazing.. Having never actually made pasta before it was quite an experience.
Lovely meeting all of you, and Eamon i've forgotten all the jokes...
Hope to meet you all again soon.

I had a such a great time at the cooking lessons at Recipease that it has inspired me to organise singles and social networking events there.

It is a great way to meet other like minded single folk who want an alternative to speed dating! It's also great for those who are new to Brighton and want to meet new people and increase their social circle

If anyone is interested in attending an event with just single people in attendance then drop me a line, I still have some available spaces on Wednesday 25th May for Age group 38 to 54 and also on Friday 27th May for 30 to 44 age group.

I also have events specifically for gay men & women too.

My pasta making lesson with fellow qypers to Recipease last night was both inspiring and fun. Inevitably skilled chef Matt made the process look easy. When it came to my turn I amateurishly did the ‘dough dance’ and clumsily wielded a knife; Jamie would have cried out despairingly ‘she doesn’t understand me’. But I made it through, triumphantly sitting down to eat our creation, washed down with a glass of wine. I leaned a great deal about making pasta, and my inquisitive, dynamic team mates made it an even more interesting experience. Sarah and Eamon, you put on a great event. Recipease lessons get the thumbs up from this cookery school drop out!

I went to the taster session yesterday, as well (thanks Sarah!)- it was great fun, seeing pasta being made by Matt, then trying* to do it ourselves..

(* A leftover pasta and parmasan kebab-alike effort didnt quite work out, though out 2nd batch of ravioli/tortellini was fab!)

It was quite satisfying, tasting something I had made myself, rather than opening a tin of ??, and popping in the microwave..

I hadn't realised they did regular courses like this, or that there was a full-on kitchen at the back of the store.. I might try going there for breakfast one day, too..

would have given 5 stars, but it was hard work, and i kept hitting my head on the storage racks!

I have visited Recipease on a few occasions now for lunch and coffees (try the selection of fresh salads - a choice of three as one course) and actually took our team there to do the Mexican Street Food course a few weeks back. We all had a great time, it was a super activity for a bit of 'team bonding' and we left suitably stuffed with all the delicious treats we had created and some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Thanks to qype, I had the opportunity to try out another of the brilliant courses yesterday - 'filled pasta'. Matt (aka 'chef') was a brilliant teacher - funny, engaging and informative and he welcomed all of the questions we had to throw at him. We made butternut squash and ricotta filled pastas in a variety of shapes - I had so much fun I left having bought a pasta roller to continue the fun at home with the recipe cards they sent us home with. Fresh pasta at chez Tuckwell may be on the menu for a while!

I'm going to give the knife skills course a go next....

Thx to Qype my intro to Recipease was fantastic! What a great concept (though I admit I'm not exactly a JO fan).

Matt the Chef was brilliant, funny but informative (not to mention patient!). The pasta making lesson was great fun.... and surprisingly, my pathetic efforts at making butternut squash & ricotta ravioli/tortellini were amazingly delicious. Would definitely recommend it - for singles or groups. Met some lovely people there, hopefully might bump into them again sometime in the future. Considering the fish filleting lesson! This could become addictive :).

Btw the menu board looked very tempting.... I'll be back!!!

Came here for lunch on a Groupon: Had a burger with cheese, Pancetta and caramelised onions which was lovely.

Actually there isn't much on the eat-in lunch menu but worth popping in to see what's on.

What really surprised me was how good a deal the take-away sandwiches (£2.50 for free-range Ham and cheese sandwich) and pies (25% off right now making them £2.71 each) were. There's a meal deal with these too!

I went for the Chicken and Ham pie to take away and seriously, it's a winner. Soft pastry, not to thick - SO MUCH meat inside and incredibly tasty.

I hear the loyalty card is very good there - not only for just the coffee (every 6th one free) but lunches!

visited recipease last week to take part in the belly pork lesson(a christmas present from my wife) from the minute i walked in made to feel total at ease as a lone male, lesson was fantastic taken by a young lady called Bethan who could not have been more pleasent and instructive. came away with dinner for the following night which turned out very well. infact i have already rebooked for the steak lesson and taking 2 friends with me.if anyone is thinking of this as a present for a partner friend or relative i cannot recommend this highly enough.

You don’t have to reduce yourself to penury in order to enjoy this place. My friend and I both went for today’s ‘Superdooper soup of the day’ which turned out to be a nourishing bowl of spinach and lentil (£4.25). Other reasonably priced options are a DIY salad (use your imagination and choose from pancetta, anchovies, tomatoes, croutons, Parmesan, lemon and olive oil) at £6.95 and the old school pâté platter (liver pâté corinchons, balsamic onion and bread) at £6.50.

A cup of tea is £1.75 and a cup of coffee is £2.20. If you plan to linger over lunch, a bottle of Alpha Zeta Garganega (a crispy white from the Veneto) is £13, as is a bottle of Ponte Pietra Red (a fruity red also from the Veneto).

The staff are efficient and friendly, the ambience is welcoming and with that good food and lovely wine inside you, the Western Road might seem bearable after all.

One of Jamie Oliver’s shop-come-restaurants where you can not only buy ingredients and utensils, but cook on site in group lessons led by staff and either eat there or take home to show off to your friends and family.

The lessons range from how to cook fresh fish, risotto, steak and meatballs, to knife skills and homemade pasta. Prices vary from about £20 to £50 but you’ll be in there for a good couple of hours and get to sit back with a glass of wine and fully appreciate your new found gastronomic expertise.

Booking onto a lesson will earn you a 10% discount on any product in the shop although it won’t make too much of a dent in the price of a Tefal frying pan, as I discovered while trawling the shops for one.

The Jamie Oliver Tefal weighs in at a massive 60 odd quid, so after my heart attack I politely perused the rest of the shop before making a sharp exit next door to Robert Dyas.

This is part of Jamie Oliver’s new chain. Part cookshop, part ready meals vendor, part daytime TV cookery show. Brave of him to (i) try to get us cooking properly again, and (ii) to open something this pricey in a recession. I wish him luck though, cos on a first try, the grub is first rate. I got sea bass with fennel for £6.45. It was a whole fish, not a fillet. It came in a foil bag which you cook it in, and was seriously high quality cuisine. Other things in the shop included various pastas, giant pizzas, chicken cacciatore, etc. All ready meals are prepared on the premises, apparently. It’s not much more than Waitrose or M&S, but - on this evidence - very good value. If you can afford it, I recommend you give it a go.